Hi

Myself and my Dad (both relative novices) are off for a 4 day trip up to Tal-y-llyn lake next week.
(coming from scenic London you can imagine how much we're looking forward to this!)

Anyway, we have both done a very small amount of boat fishing but only static.

From what I gather you can't anchor up on Tal-y-llyn (correct me if i'm wrong), so this will mean drifting, something we've not done before.

I've been looking for a basic guide on the web but can't find anything. And magazine articles always seem to presume you know the basics already.

So let me give my very quick take on what I think it involves using very basic lingo... then you guys can have a chuckle to yourself... hopefully followed by some good advice or maybe just pointing me in the direction of an online guide for beginners!

So would I be right in saying that you position the boat at the end of the lake that the wind is coming from.
Set up the drogue over the side of the boat and then the boat will slowly drift down the lake sideways away from your drogue.
You then cast towards where the boat is heading and retrieve at a speed to either just keep you in touch with your fly (or flies) or quicker if you want them to move?
Finally if the two of you don't feel comfortable both casting in the same direction, is it viable for one of you to cast to the side or behind the boat?
(Which is what we've done before in a boat to avoid any nasty fly/body part incidents.)

I'm chuckling as i write this as I'm sure some of my terminology sounds ridiculous!
But you have to learn somewhere and here seems like a very good place, rather than wasting valuable time on the lake!
Obviously I realise there is no substitute for getting out there and actually doing it but it would be nice to start of on the right foot.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Dan

"trout from a boat" very informative book on drifting and boat handling.
or you could give gwilymhughes.com a try or louis noble, both excellent apgai guides in north wales specialising in boat handling etc.
hope this helps, if your staying in the hotel you wont be dissapointed.

You're spot on. What days are you there? I'm on leave next week (18th - 25th) and I'd be happy to pop over and spend the morning with you to "show you the ropes" if you like but I'm away thurs/fri 24th/25th at Draycote.

tactics for this week have been floating or fast glass lines with goldhead damsel or montana on the point with 2 traditional wets on the droppers (bibio/kate mclaren and such like or dabblers) to give you an idea of what to stock your fly boxes with. Robroy has also just had a nice selection of Fulling Mill flies in the shop.

let me know asap if you want me to pop over so that I can arrange a mornings childcare.

speak soon

__________________
If a man speaks in the woods and no woman is there to hear him............is he still wrong????

First of all Dan, you couldn't have chosen a better place to start. 'The Tal' is one of the great romantic loch-style settings. Plus points for the beginner are: It's shallow (so you know you're never far from the fish), its small-medium size means it's not too daunting for a novice and usually, the fishy areas or hatches can be found in an hour or two. Also, due to the surrounding landscape (a huge steep corridor of mountains!) the wind will almost always blow up or down the length of the lake, affording you long drifts down the middle or parallel to the banks.

Now, don't bother with the drogue unless it blows hard and you are out of your comfort zone and you feel your casting/presentation will benefit from slowing down the pace of the drift. Or, if you have a bad bias or 'crab' to one end of the boat or the other. Deploying the drogue often sorts this, but sometimes you may need to slightly shorten one of the ropes.

Get youselves to the top of the wind, middle of the lake and see how you go. If you achieve a nice straight drift down the middle then fish it out for a while. If sport is 'slow', then move further towards the bank (even the road bank can hold lots of fish close in, just feet from the passing cars) and try to hold a parallel drift.

Main thing is just get comfortable... try to achieve long drifts so that you can get lots of fishing time, and get a feel for the mechanics of it all.

I would strongly recommend you stick to floaters or very slow inters... nowhere for the fish to hide on the Tal. You can touch the bottom with yer rod tip virtually anywhere on the lake, so if yer flies are in the water, they're gonna see 'em.... doesn't always mean they'll take though! Having said that, if you keep it simple, cast a short line in front of the boat (10 to 15 yds max) a couple of pulls to straighten evreything out, them mix up fig8, slow draws, quick pulls for the middle of the retrieve, then lift slowly with a high rod toward the end of the rerieve, then you WILL catch fish. Scratch and stroke the surface.

I would be using a simple 3 fly cast of things like - Silver Invicta, Black Penell, Bibio, Kate MacLaren, Ke-He, Soldier Pamer, Sooty Olive, Fiery Brown, Mallard & Claret, Dabblers etc etc.

If things are slow on top, and you fancy a twiddle with nymphy stuff on an intermediate then try Diawls, Crunchers, PTN's etc.

Let us know how you go mate. I truly wish I was joining you... I've had many a happy day on the Tal and it's high time I returned. Perfect fishing. Good luck.

P.S.

Don't be too surprised if you hook a Sea Trout

__________________
Too much Saturn, not enough Moon.

Buzzers 2012


Fly Clips & Stands

Thanks for the very helpful replies chaps.

Scratch:

I've got to say your reply has made me even more excited about our upcoming trip! I immediately forwarded it on to my Dad to read as well, we're like a couple of kids a week before Christmas!

Fishing Junkie:

Thanks for your very kind offer, we are driving up from London very early Monday morning. Hopefully we'll get an afternoon's fishing. Then we are there for 2 more days and drive back on the Thursday. I don't know our plans for fishing yet though as we may have a days river fishing. But we're waiting until we get up to decide. We're also waiting to hear what day my girlfriend's Dad can come and meet us for a day on the lake too. So our plans are up in the air at the moment but I will keep you posted as soon as I know any more.

Gelert:

I'll look up that book, thanks for the tip. We're actually staying in the Dolffanog Fach B&B at the other end of the lake, it gets cracking reviews on TripAdvisor.com and having already spoken to the owner in depth it sounds like a great place. So thoroughly looking forward to it!